The Met Office has made two major changes to its weekend weather warning. A three-day snow warning was previously issued ahead of this weekend.
That warning is now for both snow and ice, rather than just snow. The Met Office has also shortened the timeframe the warning is in place for, with the alert coming into force at 12pm on Saturday, lasting until midnight on Sunday.
The 36-hour warning covers the whole of Wales and most of England. Parts of Wales may see “significant accumulations”, with higher ground in the mid and north seeing up to a foot of snow, as the January cold snap bites.
People have been urged to take extra precautions amid the bad weather, with possible disruption, power cuts and potential injuries from slips and fall. A Met Office spokesperson said: “Outbreaks of rain spreading progressively northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank.
“Whilst there is some uncertainty, any snow in southern and eastern parts of England, especially at low levels, will probably be rather transient before turning back to rain. However, some significant accumulations of snow are possible across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England in particular, at least for a time, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30cm over high ground of mid and north Wales and potentially 30-40cm over parts of the Pennines.
“This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow. In addition, as milder air moves northwards, snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, again more especially across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.
“A fairly rapid thaw of lying snow is possible later on Sunday, although exactly how far north the rapid thaw will reach remains uncertain at this stage.”
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